Reviews
" Torn at the Roots will force important and powerful historiographic changes. It is a rich, well-researched, and intricate study." -- Marc Dollinger, Journal of American Ethnic History, "a vibrant history of the liberal quest for improving the world" -- Gad Nahshon, Jewish Post of New York, "Staub's work is important precisely because it records the history of competing visions of Jewishness." -- Marjorie N. Feld, The Minnesota Review, "Staub explores divisions within Jewish liberalism during the Sixties and into the Seventies, showing that Jews have long differed in their stances on key political issues... recommended." -- Library Journal, "Jewish liberalism and its history is a familiar subject, but this book by Michael Staub offers a great deal of new insight and information; indeed, it is arguably the best treatment of the rightward drift of the Jewish mainstream from the late 1940s to the early 1970s." -- Tikkun Magazine, Staub explores divisions within Jewish liberalism during the Sixties and into the Seventies, showing that Jews have long differed in their stances on key political issues... recommended., Staub's work is important precisely because it records the history of competing visions of Jewishness., Torn at the Roots will force important and powerful historiographic changes. It is a rich, well-researched, and intricate study., Torn at the Roots contributes significantly to our understanding of what Jewish identity meant to different groups of American Jews, those marching on the left, sitting in the establishment's center, and leaning towards the conservative right in the decades after the Holocaust., "A window into just how complex the conservative - liberal split has been in the American Jewish community... It adds an important chapter to the story of what the American Jewish community is really like." -- Peter J. Haas, JAAR, " Torn at the Roots contributes significantly to our understanding of what Jewish identity meant to different groups of American Jews, those marching on the left, sitting in the establishment's center, and leaning towards the conservative right in the decades after the Holocaust." -- Pamela S. Nadell, History, " Torn at the Rootscontributes significantly to our understanding of what Jewish identity meant to different groups of American Jews, those marching on the left, sitting in the establishment's center, and leaning towards the conservative right in the decades after the Holocaust." -- Pamela S. Nadell, History, " Torn at the Rootswill force important and powerful historiographic changes. It is a rich, well-researched, and intricate study." -- Marc Dollinger, Journal of American Ethnic History, "Masterful... A vibrant history of the liberal quest for improving the world, a history relevant for the present and future, and one which deserves wide reading and discussion." -- American Jewish History, [T]hrough Staub's book we have a much clearer and better appreciation for the depths of the intra-Jewish, internecine struggles that took place within the American Jewish community from the end of World War II until the end of the war in Vietnam. Torn at the Roots paints a sobering picture of a Jewish community torn by ideological conflict., Masterful... A vibrant history of the liberal quest for improving the world, a history relevant for the present and future, and one which deserves wide reading and discussion., Jewish liberalism and its history is a familiar subject, but this book by Michael Staub offers a great deal of new insight and information; indeed, it is arguably the best treatment of the rightward drift of the Jewish mainstream from the late 1940s to the early 1970s., A window into just how complex the conservative - liberal split has been in the American Jewish community... It adds an important chapter to the story of what the American Jewish community is really like., [Staub] challenges commonly held notions regarding the purported liberalism of US Jewry while underscoring the growing importance of spirituality for left-of-center Jews... This is an important work... highly recommended., "[T]hrough Staub's book we have a much clearer and better appreciation for the depths of the intra-Jewish, internecine struggles that took place within the American Jewish community from the end of World War II until the end of the war in Vietnam. Torn at the Roots paints a sobering picture of a Jewish community torn by ideological conflict." -- Abraham J. Peck, Journal of American History, "Staub's carefully researched and cogently argued book explores the evolution and complex dimensions of Jewish politics, calling into question many widely-held assumptions about Jewish liberalism.... [ Torn at the Roots] offer[s] new insights into the dimensions of Jewish culture in postwar America." -- Beth Wenger, Jewish Quarterly Review, Staub's carefully researched and cogently argued book explores the evolution and complex dimensions of Jewish politics, calling into question many widely-held assumptions about Jewish liberalism.... [ Torn at the Roots ] offer[s] new insights into the dimensions of Jewish culture in postwar America., "Staub's carefully researched and cogently argued book explores the evolution and complex dimensions of Jewish politics, calling into question many widely-held assumptions about Jewish liberalism.... [ Torn at the Roots ] offer[s] new insights into the dimensions of Jewish culture in postwar America." -- Beth Wenger, Jewish Quarterly Review, Another welcome addition to the already large literature on the suprisingly tenacious adherence of Jews to liberalism., "[Staub] challenges commonly held notions regarding the purported liberalism of US Jewry while underscoring the growing importance of spirituality for left-of-center Jews... This is an important work... highly recommended." -- Choice
